


Period

by twdeadfanfic



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Asexual Daryl Dixon, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, period
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22679470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdeadfanfic/pseuds/twdeadfanfic
Summary: After months on the run without her period, it comes back once the reader is living safely at the prison, and with it some discomfort and of course, cramps.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon&Reader, Daryl Dixon&You, Daryl Dixon/Reader, Daryl Dixon/You
Comments: 8
Kudos: 80





	Period

You were stacking some boxes with the supplies you all had found in the infirmary of the prison in which you all had been living for little more than a month, when suddenly you felt some familiar, dull pain in your lower belly that you hadn’t felt in some months. Cursing under your breath, you made your way to the bathrooms. Those weren’t bathrooms anymore, you hadn’t managed to get running water just yet, though it was in the plans, but you had big water bottles there to clean yourselves as best as possible, and it was better than anything you had had on the run until you found that prison.

You cursed again when you realized that yes, after some months gone, your period had come back. You had guessed the stress and lack of food and water had made it slowly disappear, and now that you were safe and better fed, it seemed it was time for it to come back.

You cleaned yourself and awkwardly made your way to your cell, rummaging into your bag until you found it, that menstrual cup you had bought years ago, not very sure of it, but which had became a precious thing for you in the apocalypse, saving you from runs to try to find pads and tampons, and allowing you to go for several hours to half a day without having to change when there was not only no running water, but also not even safe places to do so. You boiled it on the little camping stove you used for cooking, and made your way back to the bathroom area to get changed and get ready.

Once you were done, you kept working on the infirmary and by the time you were finished, you were feeling more and more cramps. Your period never hurt too much, thankfully, but the first day was a rough one. You usually felt super tired and cold that day, no matter what, and your belly and legs always had cramps and hurt, besides, you just felt bad in general. You decided you had earned your time to rest, and so you went to your cell.

You lied down on the bed with a groan, curling onto yourself. After a short while of self-pity time, you decided you were bored and reached out towards the nightstand table blindly to pick up the book that Daryl read when he couldn’t sleep.

You weren’t sure when Daryl and you had become official like that, like sharing a cell without even asking each other, or when you both had decided you were a couple for real and, at least for you and you hoped that for Daryl to, forever. Your relationship had started at some point after Sophia died and Daryl tried to isolate himself, when you didn’t let him, no matter it made you both fight and yell, and before the farm fell. And during the months you had spent out there with him and the others, your relationship had consolidated into something more formal than you had ever thought you could have.

You curled up with the book, tearing up a bit when you realized it was the one Andrea had given Daryl when he’d been bedridden at the farm. You couldn’t believe you all had lost her in that farm. Daryl had wanted to go back for her, you knew he still felt guilty he didn’t, but the farm had been a deadly sea of walkers. You hoped you didn’t have to see anything like that ever again.

You read for a bit until your cramps began preventing you from concentrating. Damn, you had almost forgotten about this. You were feeling chills from time to time despite the hot day, and so you wrapped yourself with the thin blanket.

You were curled up there when you felt someone walking into the room, Daryl you guessed, but you were feeling too awful to move. “What’s wrong?” he asked, and the bed dipped under his weight. “Are you sick?” You felt his hand on your forehead as if he were trying to check if you were ill, and so you turned to look at him, giving him a tired smile.

“I’m okay, I’m not sick, don’t worry,” you assured him, but his frow didn’t disappear.

“You sure?” His hand cupped your face softly, his thumb stroking over your cheekbone gently, and you smiled once again at how caring he was, despite how he might look like, despite what you had thought of him the first time you met him so long ago. “You ain’t looking good.”

“You saying I’m looking ugly?” You joked weakly, and Daryl scoffed, shaking his head and smirking. You shifted until you could lie with your head on his lap, and he began to run his fingers through your hair, making you purr. “No, I’m good, it’s just that my period came and I’m not feeling that great.”

“Hurts?”

“Well…it’s like cramps and like someone’s twisting my insides or something…” You chuckled, wincing when it made you hurt. “And I feel awful, and cold, and so tired…”

“Never saw you like this before.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not usually this bad, and I hadn’t had my period in several months.”

“Ain’t that like…not normal or something?”

“Hhmm…” You shrugged, closing your eyes and getting comfortable on his lap while he kept playing with your hair. “Guess it was the stress of wondering if I’d get eaten by walkers any given day and being too underfed.” Daryl just hummed and you opened your eyes, finding him frowning and lost in thought. “Hey, you know if I didn’t starve it was because I could eat thanks to what you hunt, right? Same goes to you making sure no walker would hurt me, and teaching me so I could fight them. I’m lucky I got you to watch my back.”

Daryl didn’t say anything, looking away from you, but his lips curled into a small, crooked smile while his cheeks turned an adorable soft pink, and you found yourself in awe once more at how much you had grown to love him. He was the sweetest, most caring person, and for a badass like him, he could be so shy…you adored it. Smiling, you closed your eyes again, humming in delight when he began to stroke your hair again.

“So yeah…I guess my period stopped coming until now that we are safe and have all this food…I mean, it’s not like you and I are doing anything that could get me pregnant so I knew I didn’t have to worry about that.”

You meant it as a joke, though you had given it a lot of thought. It didn’t bother you, but sometimes you couldn’t help yourself from thinking it had something to do with you. While you were out there, you had thought Daryl was shy to be intimate with you with the others so close, you didn’t look forward to it either, but then at the prison, with your own cell, he hadn’t seemed interested either. Not that you had really tried to initiate anything, you didn’t want to pressure him, and he didn’t seem interested in being intimate like that with you.

Which would be okay if it weren’t for that nagging voice in your head that sometimes decided to tell you that it was because he didn’t like you in that way, because maybe there was something wrong in you. But Daryl had never given you any reason to think like that, and so you always shut down that voice at best as you could.

You noticed Daryl had stopped playing with your hair, stiffening, and when you opened your eyes he was frowning even more. “There’s something wrong?” You asked and he didn’t say anything. You wondered if it was about what you had said, and you mentally kicked yourself. You sat up and reached to hold his hand, but he still didn’t look at you. “Daryl, I didn’t mean anything by that. I was joking. Bad joke, I was an idiot, I’m sorry.”

Daryl still didn’t say anything, silent for some minutes until he finally spoke, quietly. “Does it bother you?”

“No, it doesn’t,” you tried to assure him, hating that you had made him feel this way. “I was just making a stupid joke and I’m sorry.”

“You don’t gotta be sorry.” He shrugged and you could already see him getting all defensive, his walls coming up, so you could just hope he wouldn’t close off, not after how comfortable he’d become around you, and especially not because some stupid words you didn’t mean. “If it bothers you, you can say it.”

“Daryl.” You tugged at his hand, trying to get him to look at you. “It doesn’t bother me, okay?” He looked at you briefly before he shrugged, and you decided to push past your shyness and be completely honest. “It’s just…I’ve been thinking…if maybe…if you didn’t…” You didn’t know how to word it. “If it’s like…because of me…” You finished quietly.

Daryl looked at you, frowning and seeming surprised. “Ain’t cos of you.”

“No?” You asked, and Daryl shook his head. “Okay.” You gave him a soft smile. If Daryl said it wasn’t, then you were going to believe it, and you didn’t want to make a big deal out of this.

“Ain’t you…it’s whatever the hell’s wrong with me…” He muttered.

“Hey. Listen to me now.” You sat up and tugged at his hand firmly so he’d pay attention to you. “Nothing is wrong with you. Don’t ever say that.” Daryl looked at you before looking away nervously, his fingers twitching, and you squeezed his hand, encouraging him to stay whatever he wanted to.

“I..uh…I don’t…never…I just…never felt like…like that…” He murmured quietly. So it wasn’t only that he was shy…you were glad you got to know something else about him, but you hated he seemed so nervous about it. You weren’t very sure of what to do, but you didn’t want to make a big deal of this or make Daryl feel bad, you wanted to help him through it. “Dunno…I just…don’t feel like…”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Daryl,” you tried to reassure him softly, stopping his stuttering.

“Yeah?” He looked at you, seeming confused and unsure, and so you nodded firmly. “But people, they-”

“I don’t care about people. I mean, I do, but…you get me. I care about you. And I told you, it’s okay.”

“Don’t know why…I just…don’t feel like it…” He shrugged.

“Okay, that’s okay.”

“Doesn’t bother you?”

“No, it doesn’t,” you said firmly. “I don’t care if we…well, if we have sex or no, I don’t think it’s that important or that big of a deal. I just want to be with you, like we’re, that’s all I care about.” You chewed on your lip, blushing and trying to be honest about your feelings. “I mean, I don’t know if you can tell by now, but I kind of love you…” You said it teasingly even if you meant it, trying not to let your shyness overcome you.

Daryl looked at you, still seeming shy and nervous, all his face blushed, but the corner of his mouth curled into a smile. “I kind of do it too…” He murmured, looking down, and you smiled, butterflies dancing in your belly. You cupped his face, making him look at you before leaning to kiss his lips.

“Now that’s clear…” You leaned back. “I’d like it if you keep playing with my hair while I pity myself.” You chuckled, lying down on the bed on your side with a groan, curling up into a ball and tugging at Daryl so he’d lie down next to you, facing you.

“It’s too bad?” He wrapped his arm around you and began running his fingers through your hair again.

“No…I’ll be good tomorrow. But I’m not feeling that good today, with the cramps and all, and it’s uncomfortable.”

“Can I do something? Do you want me to bring you something?” Daryl sounded a bit lost, like he wanted to do something and didn’t know what, and you couldn’t help your smile. “Hershel’s got painkillers.”

“No, no, I’m good…” You didn’t want to be a bother or complain too much, it was just your period, and it wasn’t bad enough to waste precious painkillers on it. Although something to ease the discomfort would be welcomed. You chewed on your lower lip before speaking again. “Actually…maybe something warm? Like…I don’t know if Hersel has some herbs I can boil for my stomach or something.”

“Okay.” Daryl kissed your forehead before pulling away. “I’ll be back.”

*

When Daryl came back, you were still curled up, wincing when another cramp hit you. He was holding not only a steamy mug of something on one hand, but he was also balancing a steamy bowl on the other, and he was also carrying a bag with you didn’t know what inside.

“What’s all this?” You sat up on the bed, shifting your pillow to lie against the wall.

“They told me you hadn’t eaten anything today, so I brought you stew.” Daryl placed it on the little nightstand table. “And Maggie made this, said the herbs are good for cramps.” He left the mug next to the bowl and covered it with the book so it wouldn’t get cold “Also Beth has a stash of these and gave me some.” He rummaged into the bag and dropped a pack of pads on the bed, followed by another one of tampons. It was sweet, and you couldn’t help your smile.

“That’s…thank you…but I don’t really use those…” You bit your lip, hating that Daryl had gone through all that trouble for nothing, you hoped he wasn’t disappointed.

“Okay…” He frowned, seeming confused, putting the stuff back into his bag.

“I just use…something else…” You wondered if Daryl had ever heard about a menstrual cup before, but you kind of doubt it, and you didn’t feel like explaining it today, it could wait until tomorrow. “But thank you, really.”

“Got you this too…” Daryl rummaged into the bag again, this time taking out a chocolate bar and you squealed in delight when you saw it. Chocolate was a luxury that you barely got to have anymore and you were really, really craving it. Daryl was looking unsure, but he smiled when he saw your grin and you reached to take the bar. “You gotta eat the stew first,” he teased, leaving the chocolate next to the bowl.

“Okay,” you chuckled, taking the bowl of stew, but instead of bringing it to your lips you pressed it to your belly, humming. Daryl sat down next to you, cocking his head as if confused. “It’s the heat, sometimes it helps with the discomfort.”

He hummed as he frowned, looking down, and you knew him enough so that you were almost able to see the wheels in his head turning. “Don’t think we have nothing like that…besides the stew and the tea, I mean…”

“No, I don’t think so…” You sighed. “I miss my seeds heat bag…but I heated it in the microwave, I wouldn’t know how to use it now…”

“I’ll think something…” Daryl was still frowning in thought, and you knew he would, he was caring ad sweet like that. You didn’t know how you got that lucky. You reached to take one of his hands and brought it to your lips, kissing his knuckles, taking him out of his thoughts, and Daryl smiled bashfully at you.

“Eat with me,” you commanded, taking a couple of sips of the stew before passing it to Daryl, and he did the same, passing the bowl back and forth until it was finished. Then you took the chocolate bar, smiling like an idiot at it, and you opened it and split it in half, giving half of it to Daryl, but he shook his head.

“No, I know you love those.”

“I do, but I want to share it with you, because I love you as much as I love chocolate,” you teased. “Which is, honestly, a lot.”

Daryl scoffed and you noticed him blushing and smiling in that adorable way as he looked away, shy, but he took the chocolate bar, munching on it while you devoured your part. Once you were done, Daryl took the still hot mug of tea and gave it to you, and you took a small sip before holding it against your belly.

“I gotta take watch,” Daryl told you, and you nodded. “You’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just my period, just some cramps and discomfort, but I’m really okay,” you assured him and he nodded, though he looked down, chewing on his lip.

“Just…never saw you hurting before, or sick, or nothing…don’t like that I can’t do nothing…” He murmured quietly, as if shy.

“Seriously? You have cuddled me, and you have brought me tampons, and warm yummy stew, and hot tea, and chocolate…I don’t know what else you could do. It’s more than anyone has ever done before, and it really helps, Daryl, thank you.” He was still looking shy as ever, but he nodded with a soft smile. “Come on, go, I’m fine. Worse thing that can happen is me bleeding through my pants, that’s like the most disgusting thing ever…” You grimaced.

Daryl seemed amused at that, arching an eyebrow at you. “Really? There are dead people walking with their innards hanging from them and whatnot, eating other people, but that’d be the most disgusting thing ever…”

You had to chuckle, despite the discomfort. “Okay, no, it’s not…it’s not even that disgusting but it’s uncomfortable as hell, and I don’t want to ruin my pants, it’s not like I have many.” You snorted.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to find you more pants in the next run,” Daryl joked, but honestly, it wouldn’t be bad, you were running lower that you’d like in the underwear department and you had like a pair of leggings and a pair of worn-out trousers.

“You better, but you gotta take me with you, I’m not sure you know my size,” you teased back. “Now come on, go take watch and be back soon.”

Daryl nodded and reached out to push your hair away from your face before leaning in to kiss your lips.

*

You had read for a bit while you drank the bitter tea, and then you had just curled up on yourself, feeling tired and worn out, despite not having done much, and you fell into an uneasy sleep without even realizing it, the cell getting dark around you as the sun went down.

You woke up when the bed dipped and you opened your eyes, barely making Daryl’s shadow. “Hey…” you murmured tiredly. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, and you? Feeling better?” You felt his fingers running through your hair.

“A bit,” you nodded but when you moved you felt something wet between your legs, and you groaned. “Can you turn on the lantern, please?” He did so and you groaned again, cursing aloud. “I bleed through my damn pants because I should have gone to change hours ago but I was too damn lazy, and now I’m all disgusting and this is embarrassing and just…shit…” You vented, blushing.

“Come on, ain’t embarrassing…” He tried to comfort you, and you scoffed.

“It is…so if you could like…not look…” You shrugged, blushing a deep red.

“Seriously?” Daryl arched an eyebrow at you, seeming amused even if he was trying to be understanding. “You think I care you bleed?”

“I care!” You huffed. “I’m going to change and I hope I didn’t ruin these pants forever.”

You went to the bathroom, changed and cleaned yourself, and you left your underwear and trousers soaking wet, hoping to save them. You put on fresh underwear and your leggings, and then you made your way back to your cell.

“Well…that was embarrassing…” You complained again.

“It wasn’t.” Daryl shrugged, looking at you from the bed as he sat down propped against the headboard.

“I disagree…” You snorted and then groaned as you rubbed your lower back.

“Hurts?”

“Feels a bit sore…”

“Come here?” Daryl reached out for you and you took his hand, letting him pull you to the bed, and you groaned again, falling down and face planting on the bed, hugging the pillow to you with another quiet groan. You felt Daryl’s hand on your lower back, pressing on it tentatively, as if he were afraid of hurting you more, rubbing you carefully, and you let out a hum. “Good?”

“Yeah…” You nodded, reaching down to guide his hands to the sides of your lower back where it hurt the most, letting out another hum. “Thank you.”

Daryl didn’t say anything, just kept rubbing your back carefully, easing the pain and tightness that you felt there. After a while, you knew you should tell him to stop, he’d get tired of massaging your back even if he didn’t complain, but it just felt so good…Eventually, you rolled onto your back to look at him, reaching out to caress his face. “Thank you, Daryl, it feels much better now.”

He just smiled softly, nodding, and he lied down on his back next to you. “Come here?”

You did so, snuggling to him, throwing your arm over his stomach and one leg over his, and resting your head on his chest. “I’ll try not to bleed on you,” you half teased, and Daryl snorted.

“I don’t think I’d care as much as you…”

You lifted your head to look at him, rolling your eyes, and you leaned to peck his lips before turning off your lantern and shiting to lie down over his chest again, smiling when you felt his warm hand rubbing soft circles on your lower back.

“Thank you, Daryl, seriously…” You whispered. “You made this day not suck, and believe me, it was going to suck a lot. You made me feel much better. Thank you, darling.”

Daryl didn’t say anything, you knew he was feeling shy, but you felt him nuzzling into your hair, kissing the top of your head as he held you to him a little bit tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> My menstrual cup is probably my only investment towards the apocalypse, alas, I’ve been like the reader, while in days of not heavy flow I can go for half a day (or a whole day) without leaks, the day with more flow I have to change after several hours if I don’t want leaks, but I’m lazy and…that happens. Also more tmi, the cup it’s too comfortable and there’s been a month in which at the end of my period a I forgot for more than a day that I had it there (I had too many things in my mind).
> 
> Anyway, as always, thank you for reading. If you liked it, let me know your thoughts if you have time!
> 
> As always, excuse my english, is not my first language.


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